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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. content — happy
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cap — a hat
  8. squash — to crush
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cap — a lid
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. content — the amount
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cap — of ice
  15. land — a country
  16. pit — in a race
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. land — ground
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chair — a leader
  21. mine — for digging
  22. foot — a measure
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com